Oliver Gavin Test Day notes

A TROUBLE FREE TEST AT LE MANS
Oliver Gavin:
"Coming into the one and only official Le Mans test day, the team had a
very structured plan of things to try. This consisted of testing some
new aerodynamic pieces, tyres, a little bit of brake...

A TROUBLE FREE TEST AT LE MANS

Oliver Gavin:

"Coming into the one and only official Le Mans test day, the team had a
very structured plan of things to try. This consisted of testing some
new aerodynamic pieces, tyres, a little bit of brake work and general car
set up. It's been a full year since we were here last and Le Mans
is unique. You can't test anywhere else to simulate it, and this
is a pretty special 14 kilometres of track.

"When I first got on track this morning I was really pleased. The car
felt nice to drive, with nothing too alarming happening which is a real
difference to the test day last year when we had a few handling issues.
The tyres Michelin have developed for us work very well, and by the time
we came into the lunch period, after four hours of testing, we were very
happy with the way things had gone.

"As there'd been a few red flags and stoppages throughout the
morning we didn't get everything ticked off on our planned
programme, so we had to condense the afternoon's plans a bit. As
the second four hour period went on, the track got faster and faster and,
every time I got in the car through the day, the car was getting better.
We always seemed to be making the right decisions about set up, and
getting quicker, which was a nice feeling because sometimes you can go
down the wrong avenue and you lose loads of time coming back again.
Today it all went in the right direction.

"I drove for about 25-30 laps which is quite a lot. Jan and Olivier were
also both very happy and like car the set up we've found. We all
feel similarly about things and like the car to react in the same way.
It's great because you can drive the car, make a suggestion and
think you've made it better, then either of them will go out and go
faster again. Then they in turn will make a change and you go faster
again. It's a well-oiled wheel and we all complement each other
well.

"Despite Aston Martin being a bit quicker than us in the final time sheets
it's not worrying us at all. Everyone in the team is very happy.
This time last year we all had a tough time but now the mood is very
buoyant and we know we've achieved an awful lot today. Everyone
knows that success in this race takes more than outright speed, and
Corvette Racing has proved time and again it's got all the
necessary components and people to make that happen. We'll keep
you posted as to what happens next week!"